Assembly Speaker Thammineni Seetharam has said there is a well-established mechanism of resolving issues between the upper and lower Houses of a bicameral legislature, and intervention of courts in it is unacceptable.
The rules governing the ordinary and money Bills and the procedures of legislative business were clearly laid down. The courts should not encroach the legislative domain, and they were expected to see the motives behind petitions which tend to halt the progression of laws like it happened in the case of AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions and CRDA Repeal Bills, he observed on Wednesday.
Participating in the 80th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference at Kevadia in Gujarat, Mr. Seetharam said a harmonious coordination among the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary was crucial for a vibrant democracy.
“These 'three pillars of democracy' seem to have forgotten the fact that they are interdependent. While exercising their powers, they ought to be aware of their limitations.”
To criticise the governments, thereby derive political mileage, opposition parties tend to create a lot of problems in the implementation of laws. In such mad pursuit of political mileage, the respect of the legislature was guillotined at times, Mr. Seetharam stated.
‘Political vendetta’
Referring to the Decentralisation and CRDA Repeal Bills, Mr. Seetharam said there was some disturbance between the AP Legislative Council and the Assembly on passing them and the moving of courts by vested interests stalled their (Bills) progression. Intervention of courts was sought in this case for the sake of political vendetta, he maintained.
“The legislature is keeping silent whenever the thin barricades around it are broken often, respecting the idea of checks and balances laid in the Constitution. But, a frequent intervention of courts is certainly to be seen as an encroachment,” Mr. Seetharam asserted.
